Vegan Chef Rachel Carr shows us how to make a healthy recipe known as Garlic Confit. This healthy recipe for garlic confit is very versatile because the resulting puree can be used to flavor salad dressings, be used as a dip or it can be added to soups. And the leftover garlic infused olive oil is wonderful to cook with.

Garlic has been used for centuries to fight all kinds of disease because it’s naturally anti-bacterial, rich in anti-oxidants and helps prevent cardiovascular disease. Make sure to eat more of this healthy and delicious ingredient to boost your immunity during flu season! It’s all about garlic!

Equipment needed: 1 qt pot, oven, food processor, small mixing bowl

½ cups extra-virgin olive oil

1½ kosher salt

65 cloves garlic (about 1½ cups)

10 whole black peppercorns

5 sprigs fresh thyme (or tarragon)

2 Tablespoons fresh parsley

1 bay leaf

1/2 lemon wedge

INSTRUCTIONS
Heat oven to 300.° Put ingredients into a 1-quart pot, making sure the garlic is submerged in olive oil. Cover the pot and bake until the garlic is golden brown and tender—about 1 hour. Let cool and remove the cloves from the oil. Save the oil for later. Puree the cloves of garlic in the food processor with some fresh thyme and parsley. Thin the puree a little with some of the garlic oil and add more fresh, chopped parsley and thyme.

Serve warm with fresh vegetables, such as baby carrots, endive leaves, radishes and asparagus spears. You can also serve it with lightly toasted sliced sourdough baguette.

We hope you enjoy this delicious and healthy Garlic Confit recipe—just try it when you feel a cold coming on!

Healthy Soup Recipe: Carrot Ginger Turmeric Soup by Chef Rachel Carr

Fresh turmeric and ginger are key ingredients for staying healthy all winter long and they are both are well known for fighting inflammation, preventing disease and keeping bacteria at bay. Saffron enhances the beautiful yellow color of the turmeric and carrots. Spicy chili peppers add interest and zest, while clearing congestion and improving circulation, which helps to keep you warm and healthy all winter long!

In a medium sauce pan, heat 2 Tablespoons of olive oil and sauté the onions until translucent. Add the minced garlic, ginger and turmeric and sauté for a few minutes more. Add the carrots and cook for a few more minutes. Add the water or vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat and simmer until carrots are tender. Add the saffron, chili sauce and lemon. Puree this mixture in a blender until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with chopped chives to serve.

Enjoy this colorful and healthy Carrot Ginger soup recipe on the next cold, winter night and see how great you feel the next day!

Whole Food Is The Best Snack Food

There are a lot of snack options for children, and unfortunately, most have way too much sugar, hydrogenated oil, chemicals and other ingredients which are not healthy—especially for children. We should always try to feed our children the most whole food as possible, whenever possible. “Whole food” means something you would find in the produce section, like fruit, or a banana, or veggies. Whole food is always best for kids.

For Healthy Snacks, Go Organic

When it comes to produce and fruit, organically grown food always has more flavor (and nutrition) than non-organic food, and so when it comes to getting the kiddo to try something new, go organic. Have you ever tasted a non-organic carrot and then bit into an organic carrot? I have, and the non-organic carrot can have a metallic taste, while the organic one is sweet. Truly, the perversion of our food supply does not help our kids one bit, and I think we’d all have better luck getting kids to eat healthier if we would feed them organically grown food.

My 4 Healthy Snack Ideas For Kids

I have four healthy snack ideas for your kids which I hope you’ll find helpful. Note that I use sea salt in three of these healthy snack ideas. Sea salt is actually good for us, and good for kids too. Sea salt has trace minerals in it, unlike iodized salt, which is highly processed and pretty much poison. I give a complete discussion about iodized salt and sea salt in my book. Click the sea salt link to learn why I’m an advocate of sea salt and why I think we should use it in our food on a regular basis.

Organic Veggies & Fresh ‘n Nova Thyme Hummos

I absolutely love the Fresh ‘n Nova Hummus. It’s a raw chickpea and tahini blend and they make quite a few flavor combinations. You can find this hummus at health food stores. For the organic vegetables I have carrots, zucchini, cucumber, red pepper, yellow pepper and jicama. Mx it up with other organic veggies. It really doesn’t matter – getting fresh, whole food like this into your kid makes this an excellent healthy snack (good for adults too!).

Organic Apples, Sea Salt & Almond Nut Butter

I love this combination and I’m sure your kids will love this healthy snack as well! Note that I use RealSalt™ sea salt because I really like it’s sweet flavor. There are several great sea salts on the market – find one at a health food store. For the apples, they absolutely should be organic. Otherwise you’re feeding the kiddos lots of pesticide residue which is quite toxic. Buy high quality apples that are crisp, like Gala apples or something similar. As for the nut butter, I like almond butter, tahini or peanut butter. But, don’t get any nut butter that has hydrogenated oil in it – that’s poison. It’s okay if you have to stir it! Organic apples, sea salt and almond nut butter makes a delicious and healthy snack for your child!

Organic Crispbread, Organic Tomatoes & Toppings

I love the Doctor Kracker organic crispbreads. These crackers taste great, are all organic and are healthy. The Hemp Seed Pesto made by Basiltops is to die for! You will love it and I’m sure your kids will as well. The Black Olive Fresh ‘N Nova Hummos is delicious and healthy also, and I already talked about the seat salt. Slap this all together with an organic tomato and you’ll have a winning combination that your kids will love. Try heirloom tomatoes when they are in season – they are the best!

Rice Cakes With Peanut Butter & Apple Butter

What you see is a set of organic ingredients with no added sugar. The Eden Organic Apple Butter is sweetened with concentrated apple juice with no added sugar. The Santa Cruz Dark Roasted Peanut Butter is very delicious. The organic raw coconut oil by Artisana is not only delicious, but also very good for the body. And the rice cakes taste great too! A little sea salt brings all the flavors together. This combo is a great healthy snack for kids and far better than feeding them muffins, brownies or cookies! More filling and satisfying too.

Healthy Snack Food Ingredients

You can find almost all of these health food ingredients at Whole Foods, or local health food store.